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Purpose of proposed state transit tax debated

If voters tax themselves to ease traffic gridlock, most of the money would go toward roads, but environmental and transit officials are hoping to change that.

A fifth of a proposed 1 percent sales tax for transportation could be spent on buses and trains outside of metro Atlanta, and only 5 percent could be spent bicycle lanes and sidewalks - while up to 70 percent can be spent on new roads.

The Georgia Transit Association and the Sierra Club are among the groups that will seek to raise the cap on bus, bike and pedestrian spending when the state legislature meets in January.

"Any additional tax money to should go to more transportation options," said Colleen Kiernan, director of the Sierra Club's Georgia chapter. Money for roads should go toward fixing what's already on the ground, rather than more pavement, Kiernan said.

"It's our perspective that new roads should be last on the list," she said. "We should focus on existing infrastructure because it's crumbling."

Athens Transit Director Butch McDuffie, who also is president of the Georgia Transit Association, said last week that the GTA would lobby to revise the transportation tax bill. If more sales tax revenue could be devoted to buses, Northeast Georgia could build a regional transit system, he said.

Athens-Clarke Mayor Heidi Davison and county commissioners also have sought to expand Athens Transit service, but lacked the funding in recent years.

The transportation sales tax bill the state legislature passed earlier this year was flawed, said state Rep. Doug McKillip, D-Athens, and he would be willing to introduce a bill next year to change what the tax can fund.